What happened to the once adorable Lexus RX? Is a third row of seats a betrayal of what the RX has been and should be? Or is it the embodiment of what it always was destined to become? Such are the epistemological dilemmas that arise with the arrival of the 2018 Lexus RX350L. READ MORE ››

For those like us who have been disappointed in the most recent batch of BMWs, which have seemingly forsaken driving verve, we’ve got good news: The verve is back! Surprisingly, it’s back not in the form of a BMW sedan but in the all-new X3 crossover. Poised for success with a dual-purpose nature, it should appeal to luxury-crossover shoppers and enthusiast drivers alike. The standard—we couldn’t possibly call it “base”—xDrive30i model comes with a sweet turbocharged four-cylinder, standard all-wheel drive, and a premium cabin. Power-hungry buyers will want to try the X3 M40i, which utilizes BMW’s brilliant turbocharged inline-six to muscle its way down the road. Technologically speaking, the new X3 is head and shoulders above the model that it replaces, offering both a modernized iDrive infotainment system and a host of available active safety features. READ MORE ››

The Hyundai Ioniq may be a young buck on the hybrid scene compared with old standbys such as the Chevrolet Volt and Toyota Prius, but it’s already made a big splash since its introduction in 2017. The Ioniq nameplate was launched with a hybrid model before growing to include an EV and, finally, a plug-in hybrid. All three variants have impressed us with their fuel efficiency, likable driving character, and, in the case of the EV model, usable electric range. We’re not ready to genuflect just yet—the Ioniq avoids typical hybrid droning by opting for a six-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission instead of a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT), but its hybrid powertrains could still use some refinement. What’s more, neither the plug-in nor the EV can match the best in their class for range—but a well-packaged interior and gimmick-free exterior design help to ease some of our qualms. READ MORE ››

Low-income car buyers often end up paying more—as much as two to three times more—for the exact same vehicle than buyers in more favorable financial situations who have a stable job and healthy credit. Cash or credit, it doesn’t matter. This is a brutal reality that used-car dealers see every day.

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The reason has less to do with the specific cars involved and far more to do with all the unpredictable events that can happen in between. One example in this author’s recent past provides a perfect case: One cash-strapped buyer ended up paying a total of $11,835 to finance a seven-year-old Mercury Grand Marquis, as proved by the bill of sale and an unfortunate repair estimate found in the glovebox when the car was bought at a dealer auction.

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The original price that the buyer paid was only about $5500, but the bill of sale showed that the buyer only put down a small amount of money—presumably because he couldn’t afford to pay more—and financed the rest over several years. The final financed deal added up to more than double the price for a car that, in this particular case, the customer didn’t even get to keep. That’s right; a subsequent transmission failure was quickly followed by repossession once the owner couldn’t afford to fix the car—why continue payments on a car he couldn’t use? Only 5000 miles later, I purchased the vehicle at a dealer auction for just under $2300. One $700 transmission replacement later, and I had a loaded Grand Marquis with only 42,000 miles on it for $3000.

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Repair Bills Sink Those with Shallow Savings

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A recent AAA survey found that a third of U.S. drivers reported they do not have cash on hand to pay an unexpected repair bill. Those in more comfortable situations can shop around for high-quality replacement parts and repairs. However, those who rely on cars and trucks as their sole means of transportation and live paycheck to paycheck don’t have the same luxury of time.

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Indeed, for car owners who don’t have a nest egg or even a savings account, the option to get a second opinion can range from costly to impossible. When you’re looking at a $3000 repair bill and only have a few hundred dollars (or less) to your name, you’re more likely to attempt to move on to a different, more functional vehicle. And when you’re strapped for cash and desperate for a used car that you need immediately, you’re more than likely going to focus on three simple things:

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The down payment

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The monthly payment

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The age and mileage of the vehicle

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Many of the buy-here, pay-here lots that specialize in this risky market typically charge interest rates that are well north of 20 percent to balance out the risks and catastrophic failures that come with financing cars to people with weak or shaky financial histories.

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It seems like highway robbery—and it can certainly be done with predatory intentions—but those with lower or unsteady incomes and who lack good credit have an elevated risk of default. When your income is low and your savings are meager, anything from a medical emergency to a four-figure car-repair bill can easily pull you under. That leads to another unpublicized reality: limited access to cheap cars that are reliable.

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No Access to Low Wholesale Prices

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What about getting a cheap ride like that Mercury at a wholesale dealer auction? Tough luck; you’re not invited. You may know plenty about cars and feel like you could easily purchase a reliable (or easily repaired) vehicle from a wholesale market, but your knowledge and expertise don’t matter because state laws are specifically designed to keep retail consumers away. To make matters worse, there’s another pesky issue: the stiff markup that the retail customer pays. This spread is now in the thousands of dollars, and according to one industry study, the difference between wholesale and retail prices on used cars was roughly 35 percent in 2015.

It’s easier to own a cheap car when you have a financial cushion because you can quickly handle many small mechanical issues before they become big mechanical issues. But if you’re not as well off and have just one car that must stay on the road no matter what, you can easily become a perpetual debtor with a mediocre car instead of a long-term owner of a great car. In a country with more than 260 million vehicles on the road, this seems like a problem that could be solved. But until alternative modes of transportation—be it ride sharing, mass transit, or a fleet of autonomous vehicles at our beck and call—become cheap and common enough to help those caught in this money trap, the U.S. marketplace will still be full of cheap cars that end up costing way too much.

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Steve Lang has been an auto auctioneer, car dealer, and part owner of an auto auction for nearly two decades.

Acura is giving us an early look at the production-spec 2019 RDX crossover before it officially debuts in a few weeks. We already know most of the details of the new compact crossover from the prototype RDX that the company introduced at the Detroit auto show earlier this year, and it’s shaping up to be an appealing package thanks to the availability of a turbocharged four-cylinder engine, a 10-speed automatic transmission, Acura’s Super-Handling All-Wheel Drive (SH-AWD), and the A-Spec sport package that’s pictured here.

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The RDX prototype’s styling should carry over almost unchanged to production, according to some spy shots of the car we snagged a few weeks ago. The only major differences appear to be production-spec mirrors, wheels, and tires, along with some minor tweaks to the exterior trim. The A-Spec has Goodyear Eagle RS-A all-season tires wrapped around dark-finish wheels, and we presume that this package will be little more than an appearance ploy, as it is on the TLX and ILX sedans.

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Even so, the new RDX looks to be sportier than its predecessor, thanks to its optional SH-AWD system and its turbocharged 2.0-liter four-cylinder that should make somewhere in the neighborhood of the 252 horsepower that this engine makes in the Honda Accord. Acura also says adaptive dampers will be offered. A new infotainment system is in store as well, with a 10.2-inch display screen and a new touchpad controller.